Home / Other News / Barking & Dagenham Council and Sustrans secure £400k match funding for new greenway and linear park

Barking & Dagenham Council and Sustrans secure £400k match funding for new greenway and linear park

Sustrans) Artist’s impression of the new walking and cycling Greenway route. Image source: www.london.gov.uk Sustrans working in partnership with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) and BeFirst has been successful in helping to secure funding to deliver a new cycling and walking greenway in Barking Riverside. The grant is made from the Mayor… [Read More]

Artist’s impression of the new walking and cycling Greenway route. Image source: www.london.gov.uk

Sustrans working in partnership with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) and BeFirst has been successful in helping to secure funding to deliver a new cycling and walking greenway in Barking Riverside. The grant is made from the Mayor of London’s Greener City fund for green space improvements as part of the Mayor’s efforts to make London the greenest global city and the UK’s first National Park City.

The Ripple Reserve and Greenway scheme will create a walking and cycling greenway and linear park, linking through to a revitalised Ripple Reserve. The Ripple Greenway will have provision for lighting, be approximately 2.3km long and 3m wide, creating a new, direct and high-quality route away from busy roads. It will link the East and West of Barking Riverside providing safe routes to school and connecting existing communities with the 10,000+ homes and new station which will be delivered in Barking Riverside. The Greenway will also link to the Ripple Nature Reserve, which is being opened up and improved by Barking Riverside Ltd, and will include features such as a community orchard and natural play facilities.

“ For too many Londoners, nature simply doesn’t feature in their daily lives. That’s why we’re aiming to become a National Park City, with more than half of our capital green. Today’s funding will draw even more people into our outstanding parks by making green spaces more attractive and better for the environment. ”– Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

Sustrans identified the opportunity through our ongoing Barking Riverside Community Streets project delivered in partnership with Living Streets, Barking Riverside Ltd and LBBD/BeFirst. We prepared the application in partnership with LBBD/BeFirst and supported a joint site visit with the Greater London Authority and the final presentation with LBBD/BeFirst to the Deputy Mayor for the Environment.

Sustrans will deliver the co-design and design work for the Ripple Greenway and project manage the scheme in partnership with LBBD/BeFirst. It is hoped the route will eventually link to one of the Mayor of London’s new strategic cycle route earmarked for Barking Riverside.

The project will involve Sustrans working closely with the local community to co-design a Greenway that will not only make it attractive and easy to make everyday journeys by foot and bicycle, but also to take ownership of an interesting and accessible green space.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “For too many Londoners, nature simply doesn’t feature in their daily lives. That’s why we’re aiming to become a National Park City, with more than half of our capital green. Today’s funding will draw even more people into our outstanding parks by making green spaces more attractive and better for the environment.”

Ben Addy, Head of Collaborative Design at Sustrans said: “I’m excited that the Ripple Greenway has received funding from the Mayor’s Greener City fund. It’s a wonderful project that answers many of London’s most pressing problems, providing much needed accessible green space and high-quality walking and cycling routes, tackling isolation and loneliness, and providing important habitat to increase the biodiversity in the city. This area in Barking is undergoing huge growth, so it’s vital these kinds of improvements are put in place early so local people can enjoy the benefits they’ll bring.